The One Movement I Tell My Patients to Avoid

As a chiropractor working primarily with patients in their mid-to-late years, there’s one movement pattern I consistently warn people about: lifting under load with extension and rotation combined. It’s the perfect storm for lumbar disc injury—and it shows up in everyday life more often than you think.

Changing a tire. Shoveling snow. Twisting while lifting a heavy box from the trunk.

These movements feel routine. But biomechanically, they can place enormous stress on the lumbar discs.

Why This Movement Is So Risky

Your spinal discs are remarkable structures. They function as shock absorbers and are exceptionally good at handling vertical compression—think standing upright, walking, or carrying balanced loads close to your body.

Where discs struggle is with:

• Shear forces (sliding pressure across vertebrae)

• Torsion (twisting under load)

• Extreme forward bending with weight

• Asymmetrical lifting

When you bend forward, lift something heavy, and rotate at the same time, the internal pressure within the disc increases dramatically. The outer fibers (annulus fibrosus) are strained unevenly while the softer inner material (nucleus pulposus) is pushed toward weaker areas.

Over time—or sometimes in a single poorly executed lift—that pressure can result in a disc bulge or herniation.

This risk increases with age because:

• Discs lose hydration and elasticity

• Core stability often declines

• Years of micro-stress accumulate

Add cold weather (tight tissues) and sudden exertion (like shoveling snow), and the injury risk climbs further.

Why Sitting Makes It Worse

Many disc injuries don’t happen in the gym—they happen after prolonged sitting.

Sitting places the lumbar spine in a flexed position, increasing disc pressure. If you then stand up and immediately lift and twist, you’re asking a fatigued, compressed disc to tolerate forces it doesn’t handle well.

It’s not weakness. It’s physics.

The Smarter Strategy

Instead of bending and twisting:

• Square your hips and shoulders to the object

• Hinge at the hips, not the low back

• Keep the load close to your body

• Pivot your feet instead of twisting your spine

• Engage your core before lifting

Even better? Build resilience before you need it. Strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, and deep core stabilizers. Practice controlled hip hinging. Improve thoracic mobility so rotation occurs where it’s designed to—mid-back—not the lumbar spine.

Longevity isn’t just about living longer. It’s about staying pain-free and capable.

Protecting your discs today protects your independence tomorrow.

This week, audit your movement habits. Practice hip hinging, avoid twisting under load, and strengthen the muscles that protect your spine. If you found this helpful, share it with someone who still thinks “it won’t happen to me”—because prevention is far easier than recovery. Subscribe to 10 Minute Longevity for more great information